Work underway in Portlaoise Park to tackle invasive plant growing wild

Work to tackle an invasive plant species growing wild in the Linear Park in Portlaoise has been undertaken by staff at a local hotel.

Twelve employees of Midlands Park Hotel rolled up their sleeves and donned their gardening gloves and wellies to tackle the growth of Himalayan Balsam in the area. Laois Volunteer Centre organised this innovative project in conjunction with Portlaoise Tidy Towns and Laois County Council.

Saoirse O’Connor, Human Resource Executive with the hotel said “We were honoured to volunteer once again with Laois Volunteer Centre and Portlaoise Tidy Towns. Twelve of our team took part in a local environmental project focused on the removal of invasive Himalayan Balsam in Linear Park. This was our second year supporting this fantastic initiative, and we were proud to contribute to a project that promotes biodiversity and helps protect our local green spaces.

"It was a thoroughly enjoyable and rewarding day, and we’re so grateful for the opportunity to give back to the community. A huge thank you to Portlaoise Tidy Towns, Laois Volunteer Centre, and Michael Buckley of Laois County Council. We can’t wait to take part again next year!"

Chairperson of Portlaoise Tidy Towns, Vincent Booth, said it was fantastic to see local business showing an interest in community biodiversity. 

“Thank you to the staff of Laois Volunteer Centre for hosting another corporate volunteering day with the staff of The Midlands Park Hotel. Controlling invasive species of flora is an on-going battle but having the help of such an enthusiastic bunch of volunteers makes it so much easier. It is very evident to us that the work The Midlands Park team carried out last year has paid off as there’s a considerable reduction in the growth of Himalayan Balsam this year. Hopefully, the team will come back again next year.”

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Michael Buckley, Executive Plants and Landscape Officer with Laois County Council said that Himalayan Balsam is a massively invasive plant which needs to be removed from public amenity spaces. It is not deep rooted and so is easy to pull by hand but it is imperative that it is erased before flowering. 

“It was great to see a coming together of local community groups and local business who literally rolled up their sleeves for the day for the betterment of their environment.

“This project was a very successful, collaborative effort,” said Caitriona Ryan, Manager of Laois Volunteer Centre. We organised it as part of our corporate volunteer programme whereby we facilitate business organisations to provide group volunteering opportunities for their employees."

If a local company would like to take part in the corporate volunteering programme, contact Caitriona on info@volunteerlaois.ie.